On Wednesday, we got a second taste of Ben Folds Five's new album The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind (their first in nearly 13 years, out September 18) via a jazzy, fuzzed-out bit of breakup business called "Erase Me" (listen here). Hope you got plenty of listens in because our favorite Chapel Hill piano rock trio isn't quite finished— Folds & Co. have debuted two more new songs, "Michael Praytor, Five Years Later" and "Sky High," exclusively through Conan O'Brien's Team Coco website and Spinner.com respectively.
Check both songs out below.
Listen: "Michael Praytor, Five Years Later"
Pretty cool harmony arrangements (duh) over a tastefully sludgy Robert Sledge bassline. Plus, got to love a James Taylor reference, right? (He's an old white guy who loves Barack Obama, in case you hadn't heard.) Has a quirky bounce that feels very Reinhold Messner and a roll and tumble chorus that's vintage self-titled album. As with the other new songs, love the raw, "ditch the polish" production sound—sounds like something they could've recorded back in the mid-nineties. Hey, did I mention the harmonies are fantastic? And that Robert's bass sounds awesome?
Listen: "Sky High"
…Makes an airy, enthralling segue into this pensive, mid-tempo keyboard gem. Dig the billowing '80s tones and effervescent harmonies (suck it, Bon Iver). "We held onto the pain through the storms and the rain," Ben coos softly, "Like a crumpled empty discarded Newports box." Couldn't boast a more different vibe, yet it's equally stirring in that "holy crap, I can't believe Ben Folds Five are seriously making a new album again" sort of way. Got my favorite lime green polo and brown corduroy pants ironed and ready to go. September 18, here we come!
What do you guys think of all the new Ben Folds Five tunes? (Hear lead single "Do It Anyway" right here.) Let us know in the comments section below.
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